The Stories of Our Heroes

Motherly Hugs

Hazel's POV

Camp Halfblood was a mad house. A fun, enjoyable, mad house. Lots of happiness and excitement filled the air, but a thin layer of film created by sadness encompassed everything. The war was over, but all the losses hit us hard. But nonetheless, campers were in relatively good spirits.

I was sitting with Frank, Gwen, and Dakota from the Fifth Cohort in the dining pavilion, eating breakfast. It was a bit strange to not be served by the whizzing spirits, but it felt like the Argo ll, with the magical plates that filled with whatever you wanted. We were just making small talk and enjoying the food when I sensed someone come up behind me and sit down by my side.

"Hello, my Cohort buddies," Percy greeted.

"What's up man?" Dakota asked him, sporting a red Cool-Aid mustache.

"Well, I gotta steal Frank and Hazel for a few minutes, if that's okay," he replied, standing up. We both mimicked him and told Gwen and Dakota bye, then followed Percy.

"What are we doing?" I questioned Percy.

"Hold on, I'll explain to everyone." He looked at us and smiled. He seemed to be in a good mood, happy and excited. It was nice to see, because he just hasn't been able to get back to his old self again since Tartarus. He's doing much better lately though, and Annabeth is too. I caught Frank's eyes and asked him the silent question: what's gotten into him? Frank just shrugged.

Percy led us to another table where the remaining Seven sat. It hurts so much to say that. Leo... we all missed him. Especially Jason and Piper. The two of them always had a bit of misery clouding their eyes. I felt so bad for them; Leo was their best friend and now he was gone. I knew he was gone, too. I had felt him die, no doubt about it. But there was a strange feeling to accompany it. I can't explain it, but it was almost like the death was trying to be erased. Like when a fire alarm is pulled, but it turns out to be a false alarm. I had talked to Nico about it to see if he noticed the same feeling, and he had. But we agreed not to mention to Jason or Piper... no need to get their hopes up for nothing.

Annabeth smiled at Frank and I as we sat down. We sat in across from her, Piper on my right and Jason on hers. Percy, instead of just circling the table to reach Annabeth, slid across the top and landed on the other side on his feet.

"Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth scolded, slapping his arm.

"What?" he said with a smirk. "It's much more fun and faster that way," he reasoned.

She huffed and agreed reluctantly.

"So what did you want to tell us?" Jason asked, getting Percy back on track.

"Right. So, Chiron and my mom talked, I guess, and she's coming to camp to see us all," he finished with a grin. I looked to the sides of me. Jason and Frank wore the same expression, and I would bet that it matched mine, too. It showed a mix of being happy for Percy, but a sting of missing our own mothers. Piper and Annabeth were holding each other's gaze, the two that had goddess mothers. Percy caught onto our faces quickly, and hurriedly tried to make the situation less tense.

"I mean, she's really excited to see all of you and-"

"That's great, Percy," Jason cut him off gently.

"Uh, yeah!" he agreed, scratching the back of neck nervously. "So, uh, I'll just, like, come find you I guess when she gets here, if that's cool with you guys."

We all told him that that's fine, said goodbye, and went our separate ways. Jason and Piper headed towards the Zeus cabin, and Frank and I walked in the direction of the lake. It was peaceful there. Percy and Annabeth stayed sitting at the table. Just before we were out of earshot, they started talking.